Leveraging Useful Tech In Your Small Business
One of the most amazing developments in running a business over the last twenty years is that modern technology has totally changed the landscape for good. Now, it’s perfectly feasible to run a business with someone on the other side of the world, someone you know but have never met. As more and more people are learning the terms of a digital nomad lifestyle, you may also find that you don’t necessarily need a given location, rather a hosted virtual address, in order to have a ‘base’ for your business, too.
Of course, using tech for the sake of using modern tech is not always a fruitful effort when it comes to running a business, and so we need to be as discerning as possible when making these executive decisions. That said, small businesses find themselves leveraging new tech and systems constantly, and in this post, we’ll discuss some of the most pressing, interesting, and perhaps even fundamental options you could choose from. Without further ado, let’s begin:
Tech For The Shop Floor
It can be worthwhile to implement tech on the shop floor for the purpose of helping your sales reps and managers more easily perform their daily tasks and partake in inventory management. A great tool being implemented by many stores is the card reader for your phone service, which allows you to take payments quickly and easily without having to carry the entire chip and PIN system around with you, or bring customers and clients back to a checkout counter to process a payment.
This way, sales and bookings can be made more readily, no matter what kind of business you run. Technology like this, when leveraged for worth and convenience, can make a massive and impactful difference in the long run, potentially helping you secure sales where you wouldn’t have beforehand.
MFA For Account Management
A common provision companies provide their clients is the chance to create and manage online accounts with their service. This allows them to set their preferences, save their payment information, see their prior orders, receive personal discounts, and more.
But none of this is worthwhile if the information saved therein is not secured. MFA for account management is important to consider in this light. MFA stands for multi-factor authentication, and runs the gamut from providing a secondary email with a code after login for an additional identity check, a code sent to the mobile number of your client, or registering an account with a security app. On top of that, biometric login support for your mobile app can allow them to easily access their account with a fingerprint, more easily helping them avoid the delay in logging in and being permitted access.
The more in-control customers feel about their private data, the more likely they are to use your service. Rolling out a provision like this, then, could be more than worth your time.
Predictive Algorithms
You may have noticed that certain websites, such as Amazon as a main example, will notice your product browsing and purchasing history and use that to recommend further items to you. If you purchase a game console controller, for instance, the algorithm may be designed to also recommend replacement batteries after a certain period.
This might work for your store or service, depending on how you run your firm. For instance, it might be that every now and then, you offer an expansion of the services you provide,just to remind them that they can upgrade their package at any time. An approach like that is almost always appreciated.
Promotional Discounts
A dedicated, automated promotional discount could be used in order to remind your customers that they have an account with you. For instance, when a new product comes out, you might offer your loyal customers a 10-15% discount code to help incentivize their purchase.
Or, as services like Uber Eats does, if your service hasn’t been used for some time, you may automate a strong discount for them to return and remember how convenient your provisions are. This might include an amazing deal they couldn’t ignore even if they wanted to, such as a buy one get one free offer, or a 50% discount code.
Promotional discounts keep customers in the loop, and can be planned this way so that you don’t have to constantly make decisions about specific customer accounts. Over time, you may retain more business in this manner.
With this advice, we hope you can more easily leverage useful tech in your small business.